The DC School Choice Incentive Program, authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004, awarded a grant to the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation that will administer scholarships to students who reside in the District of Columbia and come from households whose incomes do not exceed 185% of the poverty line. Priority is given to students who are currently attending schools in need of improvement, as defined by Title I. To assist in the student selection and assignment process, the information to be collected will be used to determine the eligibility of those students who are interested in the available scholarships. Also, since the authorizing statute requires an evaluation we are proposing to collect certain family demographic information because they are important predictors of school success. Finally, we are asking to collect information about parental participation and satisfaction because these are key topics that the statute requires the evaluation to address.
This is a request for emergency clearance to collect basic, time critical information about scholarship applicants for the DC School Choice Incentive Program, and preliminary information for the evaluation. The Program was recently reauthorized on April 15, 2011 through "District of Columbia, Federal Funds, Federal Payment for School Improvement". Speaker Boehner introduced the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act which reauthorized the DC School Choice Incentive Program for another five years beginning in FY 2011. Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.13, the Department requests that OMB review the DC School Choice Incentive data collection tool under its emergency procedures. The request for an emergency clearance is twofold: (1) public harm is likely to result as more than 1,150 students on the current waiting list must be selected and approved to receive funding by the end of June, a process that requires approximately eight weeks to complete; and (2) receiving funding was an unanticipated event as funding for this program was previously discontinued.
PL:
Pub.L. 108 - 199 Stat. 3 (2004)
Name of Law: DC SCHOOL CHOICE INCENTIVE ACT OF 2003 (Title III Div C Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004)
This is a program change due to the programs recent reauthorization on April 15, 2011 through "District of Columbia, Federal Funds, Federal Payment for School Improvement". The Department is requesting a reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection, burden does not increase or decrease from current OMB inventory of 1,000 annual burden hours as the estimated number of respondents and total hours associated with annual reporting have not changed.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.